One pan vegetables

There is no excuse for anyone not eating vegetables when they are as easy to cook as this! Perfect for breakfast or a quick lunch.

* Mushrooms are best cooked by cutting of the stalk and cooking cut   side down first, with about 1 tablespoon of water.

* Using a glass lid smaller than the pan means the veggies will steam and not dry out.

* Put bigger things in first, and add thinner ones after a few minutes.

* After taking out the veggies, add meat.

Mince meat omelette

This omelette can be for breakfast or an easy lunch.

1. Put one pack of pork or chicken mince in a non-stick pan. Spread it out.
2. After it has become slightly brown, add 4 beaten eggs.
3. Cook for a few minutes, then cover with a glass lid.
4. Fold in half and serve on a plate.

NOTES:
2. I don't add any milk, etc to the eggs. Just simple beaten eggs!
3. If you cover it with a lid, you don't need to flip it over.

You could add finely chopped onion to the mince if you want to. And if it is too plain, top it with roasted cherry tomatoes.

It is okay in a lunch box in winter, when you don't need to worry about the temperature.

Turnip pickles

I don't make many pickles but these are nice to eat as a side dish with meat.

1. Thinly slice a few kabu turnips.
2. Put in a glass dish and sprinkle on a pinch of sugar.
3. Cover with white vinegar.
4. Add a little yuzu citron skin. (I used dried one here.)
5. I also added a little black pepper.
6. Wait a few hours, or eat within two days.

Pork chops with apple and onion

Apple goes well with any pork dish. Most people buy applesauce but you can just eat real apple :)

1. Heat a little water in a pan, simmer snap peas for 1 minute.
2. Dry the pan, add a little olive oil and lightly fry 1 chopped apple with 1 chopped onion.
3. Push the apple/onion to the sides and fry two pork chops. You don't need more oil.
4. Serve with black pepper.

Curry powder

This is the fragrant (aromatic) curry powder I usually use for adding to various dishes. (See the spaghetti squash dry curry recipe, or beans & tomato stew).

It is a very mild curry powder and doesn't add heat to a dish, in fact, sometimes you can't tell I've added curry at all.

This is from England and I buy it at Kaldi Coffee.

Daikon radish & apple salad

You might think daikon and apple is a strange combination, but they work well together.

STYLE 1
1. Peel 1 red apple.
2. Slice it finely, then cut into match-sticks.
3. Peel, slice, and match-stick a piece of daikon the same size as the apple.
4. Toss together the apple and daikon until it is thoroughly mixed.
5. Squeeze over the juice of one yuzu citron. Toss again.
6. Top with finely shredded negi onion (green part).

STYLE 2 (much easier)
1. Peel 1 red apple and the same sized piece of daikon.
2. Cut into 2cm blocks.
3. Put half the apple and half the daikon in a food processor.
(Grating by hand is okay but troublesome.)
4. Whiz for 10 seconds. Repeat with other half.
5. Add juice of one yuzu and mix.


NOTES:
Daikon is very mild or becomes very hot depending on how quickly it is eaten after cutting. It doesn't matter at all if it is the top part or pointy bottom of the radish! The longer you let it sit after cutting, the hotter it will become. (This is because you break the plant cells and they release the hot juice.)

For a mild salad, prepare immediately before eating. If you eat it quickly, you basically can't tell that the apple is mixed with radish! (Though you can see the mix of white and yellow in the match-stick version.)

It is best to use yuzu if it is in season. If not, just some green negi. Don't use lemon because it isn't so nice.

For a pork or chicken dipping sauce, use the grated style - just plain is okay or add it to ponzu sauce.

Use the match-stick style, plus shredded cooked sasami chicken fillets to fill up lettuce leaves for salad wraps.